How to Refill Vape Pods: The Juul, Cync, MyBlu and Gusto

Pod system devices have changed the face of vaping. From the early days of cigalikes that offered the simplicity but without much satisfaction or overly impressive performance, to the modern day where vapor production and satisfying nicotine hit comes at the expense of simplicity, the industry has long needed something just like them. Devices like the Juul and the VapeForward Cync combine the ease-of-use of a cigalike system with impressive performance and a satisfying hit of nicotine with every puff.

But an important downside to the pod system revolution is the cost of picking up new pods every time the juice in your current one runs out. While pre-filled pods are definitely the most convenient way to vape with a pod system device, you have to throw each one out and use a brand new one quite regularly, and the expense does rack up.

The good news is that many pods used in pod system devices can be refilled, either by design or through the ingenuity of vapers who’ve worked out how to refill them anyway. Here is how you refill vape pods for the Juul, the VapeForward Cync, the myBlu and the Aspire Gusto.

The Approved Solution: Refillable Vape Pods

Manufacturers often make their pods disposable, but not always. You can always choose a device designed to be refilled if you want to make things easier. For example, the Suorin Drop and Smok Infinix and their pods are designed to be filled with any e-juice you want when you buy them. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty and break some pods apart, using device like this makes a great middle-ground solution. Filling a pod for one of these devices is basically as easy as refilling a tank, so it’s unlikely to cause you any issues at all.

What E-Juice Should You Fill Pods With?

One thing about pod system devices is that they tend to be very small and operate at quite low powers. You can make up for this with higher-strength e-liquids, with nicotine salt e-liquids in particular being a great choice for pod-style devices. The Juul uses nicotine salt e-liquid as standard, which enables it to have high-nicotine e-juices that aren’t too harsh to vape. You can get nicotine salt e-juice in 40 mg/ml or higher strengths and they go down about as smoothly as an 18 mg/ml.

The beauty of refilling your own pods is that you can put whatever e-juice you like inside them, but it is recommended that you choose a higher-strength option than you ordinarily would. This essentially compensates for the lower powers achieved by the device and means you still get a satisfying experience. It’s like the opposite of the advice when you switch to sub ohm vaping – which is generally to reduce your nicotine – because there is less vapor with each puff.

How to Refill Vape Pods: The Aspire Gusto

Refilling Aspire Gusto pods is a very simple process illustrated by the Devil Vaper in this YouTube video. The key to refilling the Gusto pods is locating a small rubber bung in the top of the pod, which is just beside the central opening that the vapor travels up. To refill the pod, you need to remove the rubber bung, and you can do this easily with a pair of needle-nosed tweezers or even just a pin. Insert the sharp tip into the center of the rubber bung and use this grip to pull it out. It helps to tilt the tweezers or pin and pull the bung out with a lever-like motion.

This opens up a route into the pod itself. From this point it’s simply a matter of getting your e-liquid into the pod through the hole. The only problem is that it might be a little difficult to accomplish without any leaking at all. The hole is quite small and you’ll need a juice bottle with a thin spout to really get it in there. Additionally, on the opposite side of the pod from the fill hole is the air intake hole, and you may end up with some leaking out of there when you fill up. This is easy to deal with though: just blow any accumulated liquid out and you’re good to go.

When the pod is full, simply re-insert the rubber bung, pushing it down with your tool so it sits just under the level of the surface of the pod. Then you can re-attach the pod and you’re ready to vape.

How to Refill Vape Pods: The VapeForward Cync

Refilling the pods for the VapeForward Cync is a very similar process to doing so for the Gusto. A small bung in the top of the pod keeps the tank closed, so you just have to remove this to refill it. The only difference for the Cync is that the little plug is in the bottom of the pod rather than the top. Just like with the Gusto, you need some thin-tipped tweezers, a pin or a needle to pull the little plug out, but this is basically the only thing you need to do.

When you’ve removed the plug, set it to one side and fill up the pod with some e-liquid of your choosing. Replace the plug and push it down securely, then you’re ready to vape.

How to Refill Vape Pods: The MyBlu

MyBlu pods are really easy to refill too, similar to the Cync and the Gusto. To get access to the chamber, you just have to use a small screwdriver (or tweezers) to open up the pod from the base. This is really easy to do: at the base of the pod on the thinner end of the oval, you’ll see a little protruding bit of plastic you can push up with your screwdriver.

The base comes out when you do this – and you can see the wick and coil attached to the bottom – and then you can refill the pod up to the level of the central stem. Replace the base and you’re ready to start vaping again. If you’re careful you might even be able to swap the wick for a fresh one too.

How to Refill Vape Pods: The Juul

The Juul is the pod system that started it all, but the pods aren’t as easy to refill as most other devices in the class, and they certainly weren’t designed for it. However, the process is still pretty easy to complete, and you can do it with just a few simple tools. All you need is a thin flathead screwdriver, a cotton pad and a pair of scissors, along with your empty pod.

With the Juul pods, the main challenge is removing the mouthpiece cap, but this is where your screwdriver comes into play. Your aim is to get the tip of the screwdriver in the spot between the body of the pod and its black cap. When you’ve wedged it in place, you can use the wiggle-room you’ve created to take the cap off the pod by hand.

Now you’ll see a rubber plug covering the rectangular pod opening. Again, this can be easily removed using your screwdriver. Simply push the top of the screwdriver down between the body of the pod and the rubber covering and you’ll be able to remove it easily. Alternatively, you can pop this out by squeezing the larger, flat sides of the pod.

When you’ve done this, you have a large opening in the top of the pod, with the small metal chimney rising up in the center. Just fill up in the main pod and avoid getting any juice down the central chimney.

The final little task involves the cotton pad. Cut off a 1/8 inch strip from one edge, and then split this into 1/2 inch sections. Inside the cap, you’ll notice a couple of holes for the air to draw through. While this isn’t absolutely necessary, juice can leak through these holes and cause problems in use. The solution is to stuff around each of these holes with a section of organic cotton. There are trenches at the back and front of the pod where you can insert strips of cotton. The cotton catches the juice and reduces leaking through the tip. Push them into place using your screwdriver and it’s ready to go. You might get some leaking from the bottom of the pod, but just wipe this up and the problem won’t continue.

Note: This is easier with Japanese organic cotton sheets, but here I am doing the same thing with ordinary cotton.

Now put the rubber top that was covering the opening to the pod back into place, push the mouthpiece back on and you’re good to go. Put the pod back into your Juul and vape away.

How Long Can You Keep a Pod For?

Like a refillable tank or clearomizer, you can’t keep using the same pod forever with the methods in this article. Over time, the coil and wick system will start to age and the flavor from your e-juice will diminish, or you’ll start getting regular burnt hits. It’s hard to really estimate how long a pod will last (because it varies depending on how much you vape and many other factors, including what e-juice you use), but as with refillable tanks, you’ll likely need a new pod after two weeks or so of use.

Save Money and Refill Your Pods

Opening up and refilling pods that weren’t designed for it isn’t for everyone. One of the big benefits of pod systems is how easy they are to use, and you might not want to get your tools out and start tinkering. This is absolutely understandable, of course. However, if you love pod systems but want to make them a little more affordable to use, following the advice in this post can save you loads of money, and isn’t hard to do!